Baby Prisoner of the Winter Castle

“Of course. Let’s do that right now!”

That’s good to hear, but it was so sudden.

Was it really a good idea to suddenly reveal the truth like this without any preparation, though she would do so one day?

“W, wait, Lady. First of all…” 

Brielle needed time to look back on everything calmly.

Asela’s marriage was a major event even involving the royal family.

It also meant that everyone could end up on the path of destruction if they spontaneously made decisions and moved.

However, Asela didn’t give Brielle any time to think about anything else.

“You’re not going to deceive the Duke forever, are you?”

“…Ah.”

That word had a tremendous impact.

The complicated thoughts in her head were suppressed at once.

Asela was right.

Whatever happened, she had to stop deceiving the Duke.

“I will write to my father. Whatever happens in the future, please continue with your mother’s treatment, okay? My father would do it if I asked him to.”

As if she had thought of it beforehand, Asela talked about the trick operation.

Now Brielle had no choice but to nod.

“In return, I want you to talk nicely to the Duke about me.”

“Talk…nicely?”

“Yes, he would be offended if we blindly told him that we had changed our identity.”

“That’s…”

“Why don’t you do it like this?”

Asela, who had only been crying until a while ago, began to talk with her eyes shining.

“At that time, I was said to have been sick enough to wander between life and death.”

“Yes?”

“There’s no way a weak Countess could add a word to the marriage the King ordered, so they sent you, who resembles me, to the wedding hall as a substitute bride.”

Listening to the story made Brielle feel a little strange.

“Do you…want me to lie again?”

She said she couldn’t fool the Duke forever, so wouldn’t it just be covered with another lie?

Asela shrugged one shoulder.

“I can’t be honest. If that happens, you and my family will all be destroyed. You know what will happen next… right?”

She didn’t bother to say the following.

It probably means, ‘I can’t even cure Brielle’s mother.’

“That’s… but.”

“And besides, it’s not wrong.”

Asela looked up and looked over the room of Brielle before continuing.

“Because it was me who became the Duchess from the beginning.”

“….”

“Let’s put everything back in place right now. As soon as possible.”

That’s what Brielle was so hoping for.

The whole time she lived in this uncomfortable Sheridan, she had vaguely thought that it would be nice to return to her hometown and take care of her mother one day.

But until now, she had been afraid that the Count would harm her, so she did nothing.

‘If only there were a letter from the Lady… The Count couldn’t threaten me any more.’

As well as stopping Sheridan’s fake life, Asela was a real aristocrat, so Maximilian and she would be a good match.

It was like everything was back ‘into its place’.

“Brielle.”

As the quiet got a little longer, Asela called her again.

“Y, yes?”

“Perhaps… do you want to stay here longer?”

It was like a question, ‘Do you want to keep lying to the Duke?’

Brielle shook her head in surprise.

“Absolutely not!”

Then Asela smiled with joy.

“You’ll be able to live comfortably with your mother now. You’re really happy, right?”

“Yes…”

Brielle was strangely not very happy.

*****

Clarisse returned to the room and spoke to the inner wall.

“Hi, did everything go well in the mansion while I was away?”

[Ack, Clarisse, welcome! Please save me! The sweet potatoes are growing in the mansion!]

Sweet potato was the word the inner wall used to ask for help, so Clarisse laughed.

“You’re saying it’s my turn to be active again, right?”

[Of course. Clarisse is a member of the Sweet Potato Exterminator at Sheridan Mansion.]

The inner wall was exceptionally good at complimenting as much as it talked a lot, making Clarisse always shrug her shoulders.

“What should I do?”

[Do you know that there’s a guest at the house?]

Clarisse nodded. She was amazed at meeting someone with the same hair color as the Duchess.

[That woman, she’s a terrible person!]

“Eung?”

[She’s someone with a bad temper!]

“It didn’t look like it. There’s no way the Duchess’s friend is that kind of person.”

[That’s what all of our inner walls thought, so they welcomed the Duchess’ guest warmly at first]

It seems that the inner wall had a lot of stories.

Before Clarisse could respond, they continued to speak.

[Do you know what she said to her maid after she fooled the Duchess with her tears? Hmmmm, ‘Anyway, that idiot will be fooled if I pretend to be nice even a little bit. Ohohoho!’]

The vocal mimicry of the inner wall was excellent.

[That’s what I’m talking about! How could she act so kind in front of the Duchess…! All the inner walls were surprised by that change, and the whole mansion almost shook.]

“A while ago… she said they were close friends.”

When she recalled the friendly look of the two people she had seen at the front door, Clarisse became even more angry.

“It’s so mean of you to say that about Madam!”

[That’s right!]

“She’s really a bad person.”

[Of course!]

“To trick the kind Duchess… Um?”

Clarisse, who was angry, realized that she had not heard an important story.

“But how did she trick her?”

[That’s…]

“I need to know that so that I can think of a way to help Madam.”

[T, that’s right. But this is such a great secret…]

“What is it?”

The murmuring inner wall eventually told Clarisse the whole conversation that had taken place in the Duchess’s room.

***

It was questionable why Asela suddenly changed her mind, but the more Brielle thought about it, the more Asela’s words felt right.

‘Anyway, I didn’t want to stay here for a long time.’

The Count promised to adopt Brielle as Darrington’s daughter when she had a child.

When he said so, he acted as if he had given her any great grace, but Brielle never once thought of wanting to be a member of the Darlington family.

‘Most of all, the Lady said that she would allow my mother’s treatment to continue.’

On top of that, it was also good that she no longer had to lie to Maximilian.

It was easy to predict that he would be furious when he learned the truth.

‘His reaction would be a little different from Lady Asela’s expectation.’

After telling him the truth, Brielle would be able to live comfortably with her mother.

‘The fair Duke will punish me, too. I came to Sheridan as a substitute, but I didn’t tell him the truth.’

She will be in prison for some time.

Since it was an impersonation for the master, the only hope was that she wouldn’t go to the death penalty.

Of course Brielle didn’t think it was unfair, or too much.

Rather, she thought that would make her feel a little at ease.

‘And after paying for the crime, I…’

From then on, she will really be able to go back to her hometown and live peacefully with her mother.

‘That’s good.’

Even though she has come to this decision, she probably feels uneasy in her heart because Brielle dared to have a feeling for the noble Duke.

‘Don’t… do it, Brielle Woods.’

The reason the Duke was kind to her was because he thought she was ‘Asela Sheridan’, his wife and the daughter of the Count.

The maid’s daughter, Brielle Woods, was never special.

「Let’s tell the Duke the truth as soon as possible. It’s not like I can always say that I’m Brielle.」

Finally, remembering the request that Asela left, Brielle raised her head.

‘Yeah, let’s do it.’

She must reveal the truth as soon as possible and pay for the crime, so that the day she returns to her mother will be closer.

She rose from her seat and put on a thick coat of fur.

Since they decided to go to the village together a while ago, it was a good opportunity.

‘Because if we’re alone, it’ll be much easier to talk to.’

***

Brielle’s plan to tell the whole truth fell apart on the way from the mansion to the village.

Somehow, Clarisse came to Brielle, saying she wanted to do a “village tour.”

The child’s face, which carefully asked for a favor with her hands together, seemed to have a fear of “what should I do if I get rejected” written down.

She couldn’t turn a blind eye to that desperation.

Even if it wasn’t so, Clarisse was a child who looked out for adults.

Brielle asked the Duke if Clarisse could accompany them, and luckily he didn’t object.

The three went down to the village together.

When she went through the residential area and went to a small commercial district, fruits and special products were coming out one after another from the wagons arriving from outside.

Maximilian looked at the list and condition of the goods with the merchants.

Clarisse would sometimes point to an object she had never seen before and ask about it, but Maximilian seemed unbothered and fulfilled the child’s curiosity. 

Brielle realized again that Maximilian was a very kind person.

A child who keeps asking questions could be bothered, but he continued to explain without changing his expression.

“Look over there, Madam.”

This time Clarisse pulled Brielle’s hand all the way.